For the slam-dunk first round projections such as South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney – who went No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans – that worked out just fine.

But 36 of the 98 players who left school early to pursue their NFL dreams went undrafted. That’s roughly a 36 percent failure rate. For every Clowney, there were two guys such as Wyoming quarterback Brett Smith, Colorado State running back Kapri Bibbs or San Diego State running back Adam Muema, who were left to wonder if they should have stayed in school.

Smith and Bibbs ultimately signed as free agents with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos, respectively. However, there's no shortage of rookie free agents, and in Smith’s case for instance, he’s the fourth quarterback on a roster that includes projected starter Mike Glennon, veteran Josh McCown and three-year NFL backup Mike Kafka.

If not for his decision to skip workouts at the NFL Combine and SDSU’s Pro Day, and the questions about his religious fervor, Muema would probably have caught on as a free agent somewhere too. Now, he’s wandering around in Mexico, without an NFL contract or a college degree.

Maybe it’s time the NFL and the NCAA did something to help combat this steady stream of underclassmen from the instant gratification generation who are either too impatient to finish their college careers, or who fall victim to misjudged notions of their own greatness and the agents who lead them astray.

Coaches can only do so much to talk sense into kids who so often come to believe in their own hype.

Coaches usually try to keep their kids in school. San Diego State’s Rocky Long says they talk to all their draft-eligible players about the merits of earning a degree. When they hear a kid is thinking about coming out early, they offer counsel, ask the NFL for a draft evaluation, and appeal to the player’s family.

Ultimately, “I think the biggest factor in getting them to stay in school is their family situation,” Long said. “We have to get their moms, dads and grandmas behind the idea that they should finish school.”

Cornerback Leon McFadden considered coming out early for the 2012 draft and receiver Ezell Ruffin mulled the same thing last fall. In both cases, Long said the players’ families ultimately helped convince them to stay for their senior seasons.

“But if the family is sold on coming out early, there’s nothing much we can do,” Long said.

Agents have runners nowadays, people who hang out on college campuses and try to gain a prospect’s trust and persuade him to declare for the draft. It’s difficult to prevent players from talking to these runners. So let’s give them some other options and incentives to try to lure them back to the classroom.

Let guys who go undrafted come back to school to finish out their careers if their college coaches are willing to take them back.

Includes bonuses for rookies who go into the league with college degrees.